[meteorite-list] Meteorite 20 Questions - Answer and Share if you Dare. :)

From: Galactic Stone & Ironworks <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:38:41 -0400
Message-ID: <AANLkTik_bt_N-TS9Qjk=yyvizHiR0Zu8jC13hK02_bVW_at_mail.gmail.com>

To answer my own questions :

> 1) When did you start collecting? (how long ago)

A little over 4 years ago.

> 2) What first interested you about meteorites?

I have always been an avid amateur astronomer, so after years of
observing objects in space, I wanted to own a few.

> 3) What was your first meteorite purchase, and from whom?

A handful of NWA 4293 pebbles from Bob King.

> 4) How many meteorites or localities do you currently have in your
> collection?

About 100 localities and about 1000 meteorites.

> 5) If you had to know for insurance purposes, what do you value your
> entire collection at? - in dollars - ballpark figure OK, or just say
> "none of your business".

I've never sat down and calculated the value, but I'd guess it's worth
a few thousand dollars.

> 6) What is your favorite meteorite and why?

A 110g oriented uNWA with nice crust and a pleasing shape. I've had
this stone since my first few months of collecting and I just love how
it looks. It's shaped like a twinkie - Tallahassee from Zombie Land
would be tempted to eat it.

> 7) Have you ever found a meteorite in the field?

No, although I have found a couple of convincing meteorwrongs.

> 8) Did you ever get the deal of a lifetime on a meteorite? If so, what was
> it?

Yes, but I am not at liberty to discuss it.

> 9) Did you ever go through the ordeal of a lifetime to obtain a
> meteorite? If so, please explain.

No.

> 10) Have you ever consumed meteoritic material? (If so, how or under
> what circumstances?)

Yes. I have eaten and drank - NWA 998, NWA 482, NWA 4734, SAU 005,
Murchison, Tagish Lake, NWA 6026, and Allende. I was trying to gain
telekinesis, the ability to fly, invisibility, or some other
super-power. All but the Allende were consumed in a beverage. The
Allende was snorted, accidentally, while trying to detect an aroma in
a baggie of fragments. I have probably consumed more carbonaceous
chondrite than any person on Earth and it's likely that my
gastro-intestinal tract is contaminated with nanodiamonds.

> 11) Does your spouse share your meteorite passion, is ambivalent
> towards it, or resents it?

She does not collect, but she fully supports my obsession and is
working on some meteorite-related artwork that will be offered on my
website in the future.

> 12) Have you ever let a bill go unpaid or late to buy a meteorite?

Yes. I have intentionally over-drafted my bank account more than once
to purchase meteorites.

> 13) A perfectly oriented, fully crusted, baseball-sized, lunar
> meteorite crashes through your roof and lands in your lap while you
> are reading this. It's the most gorgeous aesthetically-superior
> specimen you have ever seen - like Lafayette, but better. It legally
> belongs to you. What do you do with it?

I'd have it classified. Then, I put the meteorite on a loaner program
to various schools and institutions, with the condition that the
meteorite is never cut or altered in any way. I would have a mold
made and sell casts of the meteorite - like the Venus Stone.

> 14) Statistics have caught up with someone. Anne Hodges will no
> longer be the only documented person to be struck by a falling
> meteorite. Assuming the next person struck could be anyone and you
> could pick that person, who would it be? (silly answers only, nothing
> mean or political)

Me - assuming I am not permanently disabled or killed. I would have
it classified. Then, if the stone was not aesthetically-pleasing or a
rare type, I would slice up half of it and sell the slices. I would
keep the biggest endcut for myself.

> 15) You are awarded the honor of selecting one specimen to keep from
> any meteorite collection in the world. What would it be?

This is a tough one. Probably the Willamette iron or the Tucson Ring.
 I would erect a meteorite museum around the specimen.

> 16) Have you ever sold or donated your entire collection, and then had
> to rebuild it?

Yes, twice. Both times due to medical bills. I am currently building
my third collection.

> 17) Summarize what you think about tektites in one sentence.

Tektites are fascinating objects that have an allure that is different
from meteorites, but no less interesting because their exact origins
are still under some debate.

> 18) Which do you prefer - thin sections, whole specimens, slices, or
> endcuts?

Whole stones.

> 19) Do you collect meteorwrongs?

Yes, but only the very unusual ones or ones I have found.

> 20) Have you ever dropped a tiny crumb of a rare meteorite and lost it?

Yes, several times. Right now, there is a piece of Ensisheim in my
carpet somewhere.



On 7/28/10, Galactic Stone & Ironworks <meteoritemike at gmail.com> wrote:
> 1) When did you start collecting? (how long ago)
>
> 2) What first interested you about meteorites?
>
> 3) What was your first meteorite purchase, and from whom?
>
> 4) How many meteorites or localities do you currently have in your
> collection?
>
> 5) If you had to know for insurance purposes, what do you value your
> entire collection at? - in dollars - ballpark figure OK, or just say
> "none of your business".
>
> 6) What is your favorite meteorite and why?
>
> 7) Have you ever found a meteorite in the field?
>
> 8) Did you ever get the deal of a lifetime on a meteorite? If so, what was
> it?
>
> 9) Did you ever go through the ordeal of a lifetime to obtain a
> meteorite? If so, please explain.
>
> 10) Have you ever consumed meteoritic material? (If so, how or under
> what circumstances?)
>
> 11) Does your spouse share your meteorite passion, is ambivalent
> towards it, or resents it?
>
> 12) Have you ever let a bill go unpaid or late to buy a meteorite?
>
> 13) A perfectly oriented, fully crusted, baseball-sized, lunar
> meteorite crashes through your roof and lands in your lap while you
> are reading this. It's the most gorgeous aesthetically-superior
> specimen you have ever seen - like Lafayette, but better. It legally
> belongs to you. What do you do with it?
>
> 14) Statistics have caught up with someone. Anne Hodges will no
> longer be the only documented person to be struck by a falling
> meteorite. Assuming the next person struck could be anyone and you
> could pick that person, who would it be? (silly answers only, nothing
> mean or political)
>
> 15) You are awarded the honor of selecting one specimen to keep from
> any meteorite collection in the world. What would it be?
>
> 16) Have you ever sold or donated your entire collection, and then had
> to rebuild it?
>
> 17) Summarize what you think about tektites in one sentence.
>
> 18) Which do you prefer - thin sections, whole specimens, slices, or
> endcuts?
>
> 19) Do you collect meteorwrongs?
>
> 20) Have you ever dropped a tiny crumb of a rare meteorite and lost it?
>
> --
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Meteorites
> http://www.galactic-stone.com
> http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>

-- 
------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Meteorites
http://www.galactic-stone.com
http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone
------------------------------------------------------------

Received on Wed 28 Jul 2010 06:38:41 PM PDT